Constitution

Great article in the TU today on page D-1, or the link below. 

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/030208/lif_252535154.shtml

What I can't figure out is why the government is involved in this. It seems pretty straight forward to me. Two people want to get married, they fill out the proper paperwork and a JP says you are married.

Now if a church wants to control it that is their problem. I always thought that discrimination was one of the worst forms of abuse and was pretty much illegal.

The principle of church-state separation is one of my passions.  I'm a staunct advocate. I think the Founders of our nation did us a great favor in establishing this great principle, namely, that everyone should have freedom of religion (chose your own spiritual path, or none at all); and that the government should stay out of religious matters (i.e. no support/no promotion/no funding). The principle of church-separation has created a nation where religion is vital and flourising (just look around you), and where we have avoided the violent religious conflicts that devastate so many places in the world.

When another young American falls in Iraq and another critic of the war jumps on that growing bandwagon, that veteran joins a long, long list of men and women who have made sacrifices unimaginable to most regular folks.  And those veterans who have made sacrifices and survived to tell about it are justifiably proud of their part in defending an American way of life guaranteed by the creation of the U.S. Constitution and its first 10 amendments enumerating certain rights that cannot be taken away by government.

Even as children in elementary school, we all learn the virtues of a government in which the majority rules and people can take part in the process of selecting their own representatives who will help make government's most important decisions.   Little kids know about heroes like George Washington and there's probably an FCAT question somewhere that mentions "government of, by and for the people."